Safe House
by dolphina23
Summary: Iruka finds Naruto, nearly blind from trauma he cannot remember, living on the streets. He and Kakashi open their home to him and watch over him as he overcomes his disability as well as the cognitive and emotional impairments and witness his blooming rel
1. Chapter 1

I do not own any part of Naruto and make no money from the creation of a fiction based off of its characters.

**Author's Note:** Oh, here I go again, and I just got done telling a friend of mine how awful it would be to try and keep more than two stories straight at once. Oh well, here's number three! Again, a Naruto and Sasuke love story interwoven between the plot and Kakashi and Iruka's stories. As stated, it also features Kakashi and Iruka, which is the only other pairing I currently favor aside from Kakashi and Kurenai, strange as that may sound. The eye of the mind doth see clearly and far, so gifts aplenty there be, for all who choose to become my prize. Enjoy, good fellows and grand ladies!

**Safe House**

**Chapter 1**

A peaceful silence enveloped the neighborhood as a dark, late model sedan drove slowly through it. The night was frigid, frosting up windows and forcing many late night wanderers to scurry for cover, huddling into their clothes and hunching their shoulders against the cold. The driver, a male of about thirty with shoulder length brown hair that he kept in a high pony-tail and warm, brown eyes along with a distinctive scar running across the bridge of his nose, shifted in his seat. His eyes burned and the warmth from the car's heater made it even worse. Trying not to succumb, he shifted again, feeling his eyelids droop lazily. Yawning, he flipped the heater to the fan and started it full blast. He needed to stay awake. Even though it was barely ten, the day had been long and he wanted nothing more than to hurry home to his lover and a warm bed. Suddenly, a streak of color passed into his headlights and he slammed on the breaks, the screech of tires and the slight fishtailing of the car's rear axle jolting his heart into a rapid fire pulse. Breathing hard, the man looked around him along the street. The same coloring caught his eye again as he spotted a blonde haired boy, perhaps ten or eleven, scooting into the alley on his right. _Jesus, a kid, I nearly hit a kid._

Stopping the car, he got out to follow, just to make sure he hadn't done any real damage despite not hearing or feeling an impact. But, shock could take a while to recover from, and for all he knew, they both might need medical attention. Rubbing his shaking hands together and locking the door, the man started off toward the alley. It abutted another street on the other side that traveled under an overpass. He could hear a train in the distance calling a warning to any transients who'd decided to use the shortcut the tracks offered into and around the city. It was far easier for them to travel that way when walking since the railways snaked throughout the city quicker and more efficiently than the streets, usually bogged down by traffic and pedestrians on their way to work or to run errands. Not a great place to end up even for an adult let alone a child. The overpass shook visibly as the train ran overhead. It was one of the few spots that offered both protection and a heightened sense of danger. A transient on the tracks would have no where to go if they misjudged the timing to get across the gap, especially if they were under the influence of alcohol or drugs, as many often got pulled into. The man shuddered when he sighted a fire set inside a metal trash barrel and the blonde boy shaking a bundle on the ground. When the bundle stirred, a scraggly, but marginally cleaner looking older man with graying and dirty hair emerged and took the bread the boy proffered him. It looked highly questionable, even from this distance.

"Hey," he called out to them. The sudden sound brought terror to their hooded eyes as only fearing death by sleep or a cold night on hard pavement while having your blanket stolen could do. The boy, looking positively terrified, leapt back from the man and crouched on the ground shaking and whimpering slightly.

"It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you," he crooned, raising his hands up to his chest. "I nearly hit you back there and I just wanted to make sure you were okay. My name's Iruka, Umino Iruka."

Iruka offered a hand out to both the man then the boy. When it wasn't taken, he slid it calmly down to his side, taking care to keep both his hands in view at all times. Being a social worker had benefits in learning to read people well and using that to confront the situations he saw on an almost daily basis. Speaking to a homeless person could be both the same and very different from talking down an angry drunk husband from sending his wife through the window for calling the police on him. Many of them did succumb to alcohol or drug addiction, after all. It was a hazard of living on the streets with little hope of ever stepping off of them again in their lifetimes. Then again, sometimes the addiction was what brought them out in the first place. Iruka was sure that this was not the case for the boy, or the other one, for that matter. He watched as the elderly man heaved himself off the blankets and moved to stand in front of the boy protectively.

"You leave him alone! He aint done n-nothing to you! You go on! Get outta here!"

Iruka rose his hands up gently, trying to placate the man and calm the boy down. The shaking had increased. He was breathing heavily and squinting, probably from fear of capture and the heat of the fire. Iruka backed off a little but stayed in a position where he could watch them both at the same time.

"Can you tell me your names? I'm not here to start trouble, but the child should be someplace safe, somewhere that will afford him a chance to go to school. You haven't been to school in a while have you?" Iruka addressed first the man and then the boy.

The child looked confused and canted his eyes at the older man before whipping them back to Iruka only for them to go out of focus. He began blinking furiously and shaking his head before squinting again. Iruka wondered if there wasn't something wrong with his vision. He had no real time to do or say anything else about it however. The child listed to the side suddenly and collapsed at Iruka's feet when he rushed forward to catch him. The old man was shouting in his ear and looked ready to bolt when Iruka calmly picked up the boy and headed to his car. Turning back, he tried to gain his attention through the panic.

"He needs a hospital. If you really care for him, I can help, not hurt." Fishing in his back pocket for his work identification, he showed it to the man.

"I work for the district, as a social worker," he leveled the badge and the card, safe in their protective leather wallet, at the man. He backed away from Iruka, frightened and looking only at the badge. Iruka sighed and started walking once more. He knew very well that when it came to any member of authority, even if it wasn't a police officer, the homeless tended to become defensive and uncooperative. At least he could make sure the boy found a safe place, even if it was only temporary until they had a chance to search the system for either his parents or another more suitable arrangement.

Iruka reached for his phone once he had handed the boy off to a nurse at Okada General Hospital. Tokyo was not the best place to have found a missing child that appeared to be foreign. Japan itself was notorious for its lack in enforcement of custody orders, dual parent signatures for passports, international arrest warrants or extradition requests. He sighed as he keyed in his home number. Even more than the frustration he felt at his superiors refusing to contact international agencies, he wanted to at least be sure he had a place to go back to once he was finished talking to the staff and the child himself.

"Hello?" A lazy drawl came over the line on the third ring and Iruka smiled. His life partner, Hatake Kakashi, was indeed still home and hadn't run off with the nearest piece of ass on the street.

"Hey, there. It's me."

"Obviously," his lover grunted the reply. "This had better be good. Did you find a lost puppy or are you calling to tell me you'll be late because some drunken nutcase decided hitting his wife or kid would make a great stress reliever for the night?"

Despite the crass, jaded language, Iruka could hear the edge underneath. Kakashi was worried for him and for anyone he might have had to make an unscheduled visit to council or arrange placement for as part of his job.

"Uh, well, the thing is . . . now don't freak out . . ."

"Iruka," Kakashi warned. He knew fairly well as a detective assigned to Tokyo's Shibuya district Violent Crime Division, a portion of officers and detectives who investigated everything from murder to muggings to rape, what people could be capable of. The worry had increased in his voice and Iruka rushed to reassure him.

"It's not me, don't worry. I'm at Okada General. There's a kid here who I think might be an international abduction, but there's a lot of red tape to cut through at the office and my boss wants a name to run through the system, to make sure. Otherwise, he'll go to a group home for the night until I can find him placement in the morning."

"You've already checked with the Children's Rights Council?" Kakashi asked dubiously.

Iruka rolled his eyes. Did Kakashi really think he had gained the recognition as one of the best child advocates and one of the top social worker's for victims of violent crime, again mainly women and children, by accident?

"Yes," he said through clenched teeth, "they have nothing on him so far but you know how they work. There's no ID either, and the boy passed out before he even told me his name."

"Passed out? Where the hell did you find him?" The worry Kakashi felt was back and stronger than before.

"Underneath the train overpass, near Shinjuku Central station. You know I pass by it on the way home."

"Yes, but that would mean you had to follow him to the street that runs parallel to it and connects through a couple of alleys to get to the overpass. So, want to try again?"

"I know how to get to the overpass from Shinjuku station by foot, thanks," Iruka snapped not wanting to reveal just how he'd gotten involved in the whole mess.

Besides, the child's terrified eyes and constant head turning and blinking had worried him. If he really had major vision problems he would be hard to place. Most couples, or even single foster parents, looking to take on a foster child balked at the thought of medical issues they would have to take care of. Iruka always felt like reminding them that just because they didn't share blood as a biological child would didn't mean they somehow deserved less care than a sick child they had birthed or contributed DNA to.

A low whistle from Kakashi caught his attention and Iruka formed a fist with one hand helplessly.

"What happened?"

"I nearly hit him with my car," he mumbled.

"Excuse me? Say that again?" Kakashi asked, stunned.

"I nearly hit him with my car," he repeated. "I was tired. I wanted to get home early, well early for me, for once. He ran out into the street so fast, I didn't even see him till he was on the other side. So, I followed him, because he looked thin and was outside in a windbreaker two sizes too small for him in early September with the temperature near freezing. Did I do something wrong?" he said petulantly. He remembered the thin jacket, a faded sort of orange, and the yellow t-shirt with dirt all over it, a pair of ripped jeans, also too small for the thin frame, as he spoke, and related it all to his partner. The dirt in the blonde hair falling into eyes, the color of which he had yet to see clearly, and the scars on each cheek that he had noted when the harsh yellow hospital lights had washed over his young charge just made the miserable picture more heart wrenching.

Kakashi listened as Iruka spoke and waited patiently until the end to offer advice and support. They had been dating for about a year when he had suggested they move in together, discreetly, of course. Iruka had vacillated, at first, between keeping his own apartment so as not to cause trouble for Kakashi at his job and wanting to commit to something he felt could be the end to all Kakashi's one night stands and his own failed relationships of the past.

"Mmm, well, isn't this a mess."

"You're telling me. I've got to go question a scared ten or eleven year old on where he's from, if he knows who he is, who his parents are and where he's been for god knows how long and then I have to tell him he'll be spending the night in a room no better than a cell until a strange couple comes to look him over, not at all sure they'll be giving him a home. Sometimes, I hate my job."

"No, you just hate _this_ job, as in this kid's predicament. You love everything else you do and know quite a few ways to deal with the pressure and the stress of not being able to help everyone you want to, thanks to me."

"Why do you always make that sound so dirty?" Iruka whined lightly.

"Why do you insist on interpreting it as dirty?" Kakashi countered.

After a moment, Iruka swallowed hard and closed his eyes, trying to quell the uneasy feeling in his stomach. Whatever Kakashi thought, he never handled having to disrupt families and potentially cause children to need therapy later in life well. He coped, as most in his field did and tried to remain empathic without attaching himself to his clients too deeply. But, he was right, this one was different.

"Kakashi . . .," he started.

"Hmmm?"

"I want to stay here, until he wakes up. He's malnourished and dehydrated. The doctors say it might be a while. He also has something wrong with his eyes. I think he might be blind or most of the way there. They haven't been able to run any tests because the one time he regained consciousness, they had to sedate him again to keep him from injuring his airway when he freaked out. I think waking up in the hospital, on the way to being naked and strangers all around may have driven him further in."

Kakashi made a low sound in the back of his throat and huffed indignantly.

"That would scare anyone half to death, I think, or they aren't normal. I'll be by in a while. I need a shower first."

Iruka could hear the faint shifting of Kakashi's favorite chair being pulled back into the upright position and the afghan he refused to throw away despite the holes probably being thrown in a corner somewhere. Honestly, if he hadn't been the one to ask, Iruka never would have suggested to him that they live together; Kakashi hated change and protected himself and his home fiercely from it. So, his offer to come sit with him instead of returning to his evening routine made Iruka think hard about the possibility that he really did have a chance at a life with him; a complete life, not just a relationship that would probably end amicably enough, but end all the same. He blinked as he realized that Kakashi had been calling to him loudly enough for a passing nurse to eye him distrustfully. He smiled at her and spoke quietly into the mouthpiece.

"I have to go now. They're paging me to come to the fourth floor conference room," he said, nearly sighing in relief when he heard his name over the intercom. "You know where that is, right?"

"Of course! That's the one we use when we question witnesses and victim's family members whenever we pay a visit and they won't feel comfortable coming to us," Kakashi replied airily with a wave of his hand that Iruka couldn't see. He also couldn't see the small, nervous movements his hands made at the thought of doing what he knew his partner really wanted. He would need some time to digest everything he'd heard first and call a few contacts he had inside the Children's Rights Council. Maybe they could find the boy's parents and he wouldn't have to worry. Iruka wouldn't need any looking after either, not that Kakashi minded. But one less night having to sit through the raucous comedies Iruka forced him to watch in order to release tension, as much as they worked, and he might just end up on his own couch. Well, their couch. It still took some getting used to, only having been two weeks since they had moved the last of Iruka's belongings in. He hoped he wouldn't still be saying that after two years. Iruka would probably say the mere thought that he was considering the possibility that they would still be living together after that long was a huge step forward. Kakashi hung up the phone without saying goodbye as he had been known to do and went to shower. It wasn't a long drive to the hospital and he wouldn't be there all night because he would eventually drag them both back home or else Iruka would snap back to reality when he realized he couldn't take them all home and they would move on.

Kakashi strolled through the doors of the hospital's visitor entrance and headed up the stairs to the fourth floor. Had Iruka not mentioned that the kid was so sick, not to mention potentially blind, or as good as, he might have told him to come home instead of offering to join him. His heart was not as cold as he tried to make it, no matter what he did. He did care and he might go as far as letting Iruka do what he wanted, provided he had the chance to meet the boy and they got along well enough. He had never really considered children as something he wanted for himself. Nor had he considered adopting with Iruka as it might mean some of his co-workers finding out about his orientation. He had no problems letting people know about it, as long as they were gay as well, or had no connection to the police force and he knew them well enough. Being gay was still very much a taboo in Japan, though the struggle to appear more westernized in order to better their foreign relations with other countries meant that it was now exposed to the rising acceptance rate of gay relationships, even gay marriage. Even so, Kakashi did not want to open himself, or Iruka, up to derision, the possibility of a hate crime, or something worse. Iruka agreed with the sentiment, which was probably why their relationship worked so well. Kakashi did not like hiding, but it was necessary to preserve his badge, his relationship with his fellow officers and their respect for him. He lead them into situations that could be, at times, dangerous. He would not want to put his faith in someone he could not trust when his life might depend on it during any given day. Of course, he had never actually had to pull his weapon, well not to actually shoot someone. But, that was beside the point. Reaching the fourth floor conference room, he peeked inside first. Iruka was leaning his head back against the wall and had his hands draped casually over his knees. Kakashi smiled widely. He had always loved that pose. He opened the door quietly and stole into the room just as softly.

"Kakashi, don't you even dare," Iruka ground out in measured tones. His voice sounded very strained and the stress showed in his shoulders finally as Kakashi drew near.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist at least trying. I knew it wouldn't work and I couldn't go through with it anyway," Kakashi apologized.

"You look like you've had a hard night right after a hard day," he commented dryly.

Iruka sighed as he raised his head to stare at him. His eyes were bloodshot and there was definite worry lacing his forehead with wrinkles.

"He's nearly blind, Kakashi. They called it posterior subscapular cataracts. Apparently, cataracts can occur at any age, though this type is more common from particular medications. Of course, the ophthalmologist also said that injury to the eye can result in cataracts and that they detected a healed fracture on his forearm and one healed twist fracture of a bone in his wrist. I don't have to tell you that injuries like that are common in child abuse cases. The problem is that, while my boss did find a name and date for a missing child fitting his description at the Child Rights Council, the number and address the parents left is now defunct. Apparently, they had another baby and left the country shortly after, leaving no forwarding address for them to use. They did provide DNA evidence in case the child was found, from a toothbrush, and from what the doctors tell me, the age fits as well. The scars have made it a little harder for a picture ID even with age progression, but we . . . _I_, think it's him," Iruka told him softly. He smiled a little when Kakashi, a little out of his depth it seemed, didn't catch onto the fact that the child did indeed have a name.

Kakashi swallowed roughly, feeling his heart pounding in his chest. There was quit a lot of information that Iruka had managed to forage out in the half an hour time span for him to shower and the forty-five minute drive it had taken him to get to the hospital. None of it sounded good to Kakashi, most harrowing of all the fact that a nearly blind child was not going to get adequate treatment from a foster parent who generally had little money to use on their charges despite assistance from the district government let alone a group home. The best they would do would be to give him a prescription for lenses and Kakashi knew enough about cataracts from watching it nearly destroy his grandmother's sight that he might need surgery. Something else about what Iruka had said bothered him even more though.

"Scars?" he asked and then swallowed apprehensively at the bleariness overtaking his lover's eyes.

"On his face. Three on each cheek. They're deep, clean and look like they might be from glass or a sharp blade. If what the doctors said is true, then the trauma that might have caused the cataracts could have done the same thing to his face if he'd hit, or been shoved into, something like a heavy mirror face first," still Iruka spoke softly, as if raising his voice inside the insulated walls of the conference room would wake the patients in their beds.

"Iruka . . . ," Kakashi admonished softly, "if you want to take him home, you should ask."

"Kakashi, I wouldn't, except that this boy is different, he feels different than any of the others. Do you know he still hasn't said a word except to answer the doctor's questions about his eyes? Even then, he looked confused, as if this was how he thought everyone saw things. He has some serious cognitive issues. He's twelve years old and stared at the book I was holding in my hand as if he'd never seen it before," Iruka rattled off, counting on his fingers as he went.

At any other time, Kakashi would have smiled when he heard that Iruka had bothered to grab a book to read from his car rather than suffer through what he called the mainstream drama that people wrote about in all those magazines that hospitals and doctor's offices stocked up on by the cart load.

"Well, then, I guess I have to meet him if he has you so wound up you're willing to break with one of your cardinal rules regarding a potential client."

"I'm not handling his case, Kurenai is. I've already woken Judge Soma and asked for a petition for foster care to be sent to my office. I'm already approved by the district court to take him, if the judge agrees. He says he doesn't see a problem with it as long as I have a stable environment to show Kurenai when she gets the paperwork in the morning. It shouldn't take more than a week and by then he'll be out of here."

Iruka stopped to take a breath and look into Kakashi's eyes. Kakashi knew that look. It was the same one that had attracted him to Iruka in the first place. They'd met while raiding a drug addicts' home. She'd been harboring a fugitive wanted for assault. They'd questioned her beforehand and she had adamantly denied knowing where he was. It seemed she'd been sleeping with him in exchange for drug money, which made her a prostitute as well. Iruka had been called in to assess the situation concerning her five year old son and seven year old nephew, both living with her at the time, while they arrested both of the adults. The children had no other family and were placed in a group home, but Kakashi had made the mistake of letting fly an offhand comment on how long that would last before they were in some seedy foster house where the 'parents' were simply feeding them just enough to keep the money coming in and using the rest for god knows what, or worse, aged out of the system while still in group care. Iruka had flashed him that determined stare and he had quailed in his military boots and police issue flak jacket, literally, apologizing to him and the children immediately. He had asked Iruka out a week later, hoping the time away had allowed him to forget the asinine remark. He hadn't but he had agreed to go out with him and that had been Kakashi's first gift from the other man. Maybe Kakashi could accept this as just one more, if the kid wasn't a hellion and he could manage to stir up more of the feelings Iruka had begun to recover to give the boy what he needed and most certainly deserved.

"If it means finding somewhere else, Kakashi, I'll do what I have to," Iruka said determinedly.

"Whoa, hey, I haven't even met him. Aren't I allowed to do that before deciding whether or not I want him in my house, or whether or not he likes me?"

Iruka smiled pleasantly then and laughed a little.

"See? I keep telling you, you're really just a softy with a lazy mind. Anyone else would have said, 'Shouldn't we see if I like him', not the other way around. But, not you, you're more worried that he'll hate you the moment he sets eyes on you, why I still have yet to get down to. But later, first, you need to come meet Naruto."

"Naruto?" questioned Kakashi as they made their way out the door and down the hall to their left. Apparently, this Naruto was being kept out of the ICU which was on the second floor. That was always a good sign.

"Uzumaki Naruto, age twelve, missing since the age of six according to the flier from CRC," he said gravely.

"You really did get on the balls of the Children's Rights Council, huh?" Kakashi said wonderingly.

"Yeah, and hey! Keep that stuff out of the conversation when you talk to him!"

"One thing before we do that, Iruka." Kakashi pulled him away from the door of room four hundred and ten, the one he guessed the Uzumaki kid was in. Iruka looked up at him arching his brow in silence.

"If he hasn't spoken to anyone except the eye doctor, how are we supposed to get him to talk? And, how did you manage to get so close to him without even knowing what he's like?"

"You'll see, Kakashi," Iruka answered slyly, smiling a little as he opened the door.

A doctor stood near the edge of the bed while leaning a little over it, running a pen light from side to side in front of the patient. Kakashi was curious, he had to admit it. The doctor called over his shoulder to Iruka.

"I've given him some dilating drops. It should help temporarily improve his eyesight until we can do further testing at an office. I've left my card on the table, but you're free to choose another doctor if you like."

Then he smiled at his patient. Kakashi could see it wink in and out from what little of the doctor's profile he could see.

"I will see you tomorrow, Naruto-kun. Is there anything you'd like that I can ask the nurse for?"

Kakashi watched as a tow-headed boy resolved into view when the doctor moved away. Blond, messy strands fell all around his head and framed it rather cutely. But, the eyes, the eyes that strained even after the drops, blinked furiously a few times while the boy shook his head as if to clear it.

"Remember I said it might burn a bit at first? You can just tell me what it is you'd like and I can get it."

The boy, Naruto, frowned and glanced at the table in front of him looking very out of place and confused. Kakashi supposed if his vision had been bad long enough than he probably had no idea how things were really supposed to look. He hoped the drops were working properly. The color that drew him in would be a travesty to lose behind clouded lenses. Such a piercing blue and so clear yet they reflected the shadows and light in a way that seemed to change the type of blue he was looking at. Those were very interesting eyes. When he spoke his voice was rough, more like someone far older. Kakashi found he was trapped, in this room, with this little person who looked the entire world like a four year old stuck in the body of a ten year old with the voice of an adult, and yet he was already twelve. What an enigma.

"That," Naruto said simply, pointing to the small plastic juice cup.

The doctor raised his eyebrows and wiggled them. Naruto smiled and Kakashi thought he really needed to sit down. The world had turned upside down anyway so the floor should be pretty close by now. Brilliant white teeth looking cleaner than he had ever expected from someone who'd been on the street for God knows how long and the scars that had at first engendered pity rose to form a very cat-like quality that only enhanced, rather than making Naruto anything less.

"If I ask for more, they might have to walk more and they've already been in here a lot."

The ophthalmologist shook his head and beamed.

"You know, I told you, remember? It's part of their job to look after you."

"Right, job," Naruto said the last word slowly, as if he had never done it before and Kakashi wondered again where he had been all this time and what he had gone through. There were definitely cognitive issues, from what Iruka had said about the book and listening to the exchange now. Kakashi's own studies at college gave him a little insight into the child's behavior. He would likely have issues with touch, emotional responses that seemed rude or out of place, trouble communicating his emotions and possibly be unable to form lasting relationships with people. That is, if the boy didn't receive constant care and professional guidance. He watched Iruka out of the corner of his eye give Naruto a gentle look he had seen often enough. Then, Naruto caught sight of them and while he tensed at seeing Iruka he positively stiffened when he saw Kakashi. His eyes went wider and he blinked owlishly, his mouth slackening a tiny bit. It was perhaps the most child-like thing Kakashi had seen outside of a cartoon show.

"You're a fuzz. I don't have to talk to you. I didn't do anything," he said suspiciously, narrowing his eyes in an adorable pout.

Kakashi, surprised into silence, eyed the boy carefully.

Iruka, hiding his laughter through a loud clearing of his throat whispered discreetly, "I told you so."

Kakashi pulled on a bright smile and shook his head, laughing gently.

"Now, what gave you that idea?"

"Taka showed you to me. He said to watch so I did. You look like a fuzz, here," the bright, enigmatic yet hopelessly stunted boy pointed at his own face. Kakashi was again rendered speechless. He chose to turn to Iruka for help and found nothing but a very amused lover shaking quiet laughter in his direction, trying to cover it with one hand and using the other to wave him near the bed.

"Go on, say hello," Iruka's eyes pleaded urgently that Kakashi work his incomprehensible magic at ferreting out information from almost anyone now that Naruto seemed inclined to talk.

"Well, Naruto, you're right, I'm a detective." When Naruto frowned and stared at him, he explained.

"A patrol officer can arrest people and investigate small crimes but a detective handles bigger and harder ones."

He could see that Naruto didn't really understand and sighed a little. Did Iruka really know what he was hooking them into? He supposed he did since he hadn't bothered to check with him before deciding to take charge of Naruto's welfare. And really, a group home or even an adequately prepared foster parent would have no hope of working in the time and effort required for Naruto to reasonably catch up to other children his age without leaving him blunted, perhaps even dangerously so, for him as well as other people. Naruto rubbed at his eyes a little and Kakashi looked around to see that the eye doctor had left the room, presumably to find a juice cup or someone who could retrieve one instead. It was then that Iruka decided to step forward and save him.

"My name is Iruka. Do you remember seeing me earlier, near the train bridge?" Iruka spoke calmly and used simpler language he thought the boy would understand easier.

"I was with Taka," he told them and then frowned a little, "I thought you were the fuzz. Taka said to be careful. They don't like us. I like trains."

The random break in speech from one subject to another told Kakashi that Naruto really had no concept of timing or relation of words to actual conversation. Good God, if it was this bad he was remarkably lucky he hadn't ended up environmentally retarded, or worse, completely sociopathic. He didn't see any evidence of that in Naruto, though, thank God. Rather, he seemed to have an innate sensitivity to people. He had not wanted to bother the nurses to have to walk all the way down to his room to answer a page only to have to walk back toward their desk to get to the patient's refrigerator. Kakashi had been in hospitals for various criminals, witnesses and victims plenty of times to know that the fridges were separated into two categories. One for medication and one for snacks and small amounts of food brought from home as long as it was allowed and properly labeled. If he was going to be here a while, maybe one of them could get him a few different foods and see which ones he could recognize and name. It was going to take a while to get Naruto even close to where he needed to be in order to attend school. Kakashi froze momentarily, frowning. He had realized it but too late. This child wouldn't be going anywhere but to his house, with Iruka and himself, which meant that he would be risking the need to tell his captain that he was gay.

"Kakashi," Naruto sounded out his name slowly and then with more confidence and Kakashi felt his heart lurch painfully. _Damn it. Oh, God damn it._

He turned steely eyes at Iruka who watched him wisely and quietly.

"Call Kurenai and put my name in, Iruka."

Flashing a smile, Iruka bent down, forgetting for a moment who he was with, and ruffled Naruto's hair a little. Naruto jumped a bit, unsettled and squinted at Iruka before hedging a soft smile. Kakashi watched it disappear suddenly as if the boy realized he'd been doing it and thought he wasn't supposed to. He saw flashes of many things in Naruto's eyes and wanted, needed, to know more.

"I like trains a lot," Naruto mumbled unexpectedly again.

That was the last thing they heard for a while. Naruto slid down on the bed and squirmed around until he got comfortable, turning to stare out of the window at the lights of the city. Kakashi saw his eyes move rapidly back and forth, squinting every now an then as he tried to take everything in. If all he knew of the world was that overpass and perhaps wherever his abductor had kept him, then they definitely had a lot of catching up to do.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** Well, bless me, I've had more reviews for this in one day than in the first day after posting both of my other stories combined. Thank you! I'm going to try not to bore anyone with too much detail, but I must also warn you now. Detail is one of my assets as well as something I can get carried away with. Also, if done well, the use of medical terminology in a fiction can really enhance, not detract, from the story, for example, the Dr. Kay Scarpetta novels written by the very lovely Patricia Cornwell. But, I'll try my best not to get too bogged down.

Furthermore, remember I'm trying to illustrate a story based off of the manga characters, but that some of them may be very out of character at times, though I did not start out writing this with that intention. Now, enough of this. Ride on down the dusty track and meet your destiny, my cavalier wanderers, the story does continue.

**Chapter 2**

Naruto scrunched up his nose and shook his head. The tube in his arm itched and there was a dull pain in his hand. He rubbed at it slowly only to feel it get worse. The little blue box hanging to his left made a noise and then continued to do it. One of the nice ladies, the doctor had called them nurses, came rushing in. Naruto smiled at her, unsure of why she looked at him like she was afraid. Naruto knew that look. He'd seen it in the funny glass that showed him his face and in Taka when the fuzz got too close or one of the trolls started after him. Oh yes, he knew fear.

The nurse bent down to move his hand away from where he'd been rubbing and frowned.

"Naruto, did you do this?"

Naruto stared at her confused, but he smiled again, thinking it might help. He didn't understand.

"You've pulled out the IV. It needs to stay where it is so you can get better. Do you understand? You're feeling a little better right? The IV delivers medicine that does that. If you rub at it, it might stop working."

Naruto shrugged and smiled. He did feel less like he was going to be sick and less tired. He'd slept a lot that day. He wasn't as thirsty either. Watching the nurse, he saw her pull apart a paper something and inside there was another little tube attached to a needle. They had told him what needles were because he'd felt them going in early yesterday, when he woke up without most of his clothes and on a strange bed, with strangers looking at him. He hadn't liked that, not at all. Then, they had done something, it had made him sleepy. The next time he'd woken up, the man who said his name was Iruka had been by his bed. Naruto had wanted to talk to him before but Taka had looked so scared that Naruto thought he might be one of the trolls that could look like a normal person. Taka had told him about them, too. They wore faces like Iruka but then they did things, awful things. Taka had showed him the mark on his tummy, a long white one and said that they had wanted his shoes. Naruto wasn't stupid; he knew that shoes were important. They kept your feet from hurting on the road when you walked. Then, Taka had said something that made Naruto squirm and gave him an odd feeling, like there had been someone else who talked like that.

'Sometimes, the t-trolls, they want goodies. They want to go in there.' He had pointed to below Naruto's belt. Taka said those were the 'goodies' that they wanted. Naruto didn't see why they wanted _that_ part of him. He only used it to go to the bathroom, after all. He knew how to avoid them though, how to get away. He was quick and small, so they could never catch him. The nurse pulled the tube and the needle out while Naruto watched. A little blood came out and she put a neat-looking, orange bandage over it. Naruto had bought some for Taka, one time, over at the store where they sometimes got coffee. He'd scraped his knee one day when he went out to look for food. Naruto had been told to stay behind and never to go anywhere without him. He'd listened, because he'd always been told to stay behind, to stay quiet, and, once, to stay hidden. Though he couldn't remember when or who had said it.

She put in the other tube and Naruto felt a little better. This one didn't itch and it was higher on his hand which felt less painful. A knock on the door made her turn around and Naruto waited to see if it was a troll, or maybe Iruka. He liked Iruka. The detective that had come in with him last night was funny looking, like a Halloween man. He had a scar over his eye and they were mismatched, one darker than the other. His grey hair was spiked up high on his head, which was funny since he wasn't older looking like Taka. It was Iruka though, as far as Naruto could make out. The outlines of his form blurred and shifted and Naruto narrowed his eyes until they watered; everything was always so hard to focus on. The clouds in his eyes were awful to see through. The nice doctor had visited him today and given him more drops. They made the things he saw inside the clouds stand out better. He liked the doctor.

Kakashi came through the door smiling and Naruto felt the funny twist in his tummy that Taka had said was a good feeling, like when you smiled or laughed. Naruto thought it made sense and he liked to smile. He especially liked to laugh and did it a lot. Though, maybe it was wrong because he sometimes got strange looks from people. They made him feel bad funny, like he had been bad too, and _that_ made him think of something he really didn't want to, so he pushed it all away. He smiled bigger and Kakashi laughed a little which made the feeling grow. Kakashi reached toward him and Naruto instinctively pulled back. They might feel nice when he saw them but he didn't want to touch yet, not until he knew they weren't normal trolls. He already knew that they weren't scary trolls. Kakashi looked over at the bear on his bed with a smile. At least Naruto thought he was smiling through the fuzzy edges of his face. The bear was huge and the doctor that had given it to him had said his name was Kuma-chan. Naruto liked the sound of the name and the feel of the bear. He was big enough to hug tightly with both his arms.

"Who's this?" Kakashi asked softly while he laughed again.

Naruto smiled wider and giggled a little. Kakashi wanted to meet Kuma-chan! And he didn't have the funny look like the normal trolls that had wanted his other toy, Omocha. Taka had given it to him. Naruto had named him for the word that meant toy because he couldn't think of a better one. Omocha was a monkey, Naruto had learned. But, Kuma-chan felt better and he wanted to see if Kakashi agreed.

"This is Kuma-chan! He feels . . . er . . ." But Naruto stopped; he didn't know the right word. It felt like there was a better one but he didn't know it and whenever that happened he felt that queasy funny feeling again, like a mistake.

"He feels like what, Naruto?" Kakashi asked gently. "Can you tell me? I'd like to know first, before I ask if I can touch him."

Iruka smiled down at Kakashi then, from behind him. The college classes were good for more than keeping him out of trouble apparently.

"Uh, he feels . . . good," Naruto struggled a little and then frowned. "But that word isn't right. I know more. I just can't find it."

"Can I see him? That way, maybe I can help you find the right one."

Naruto handed over Kuma-chan reluctantly, narrowing his eyes so he could see a little clearer just what Kakashi was doing. The clouds in front of them really weren't helping any at all. Kakashi didn't go anywhere with him, so maybe he wasn't going to do anything. Still, Naruto had to watch to be sure.

"Hmmm, well isn't this nice. He really does feel good . . . soft, too." Kakashi said while lifting the bear off of the bed. Iruka leaned a little on his shoulder to swipe a hand over the ear himself. A bright, magnetic blue, the bear was made of soft velvet and much higher in quality not to mention a whole hell of a lot bigger, than anything Iruka had seen in the hospital gift shop. The ophthalmologist must have gone to another shop, perhaps a specialty store, by the look of the quality in the fabric.

"Soft," Naruto repeated, "Kuma-chan is soft."

Kakashi new the boy was instinctively committing it to memory without being told to. Maybe someone _had_ tried to teach him as much as they could, just not as well as a teacher or a parent-figure would. Naruto rubbed the bear and smiled and mouthed the word again before nodding. It was remarkable to watch and gave Kakashi hope that he could learn as well as any other child. Sometimes that wasn't possible if the brain was not stimulated early enough in life. The child grew up irreversibly damaged in the reason and cognitive memory centers of the brain. A glance at Iruka's face and Kakashi sat down on the edge of the bed, careful not to get too close to Naruto just yet.

"Naruto, do you remember when I said that you were right about me being a police officer?"

"I remember. It's always good to try and remember what people say," Naruto said quietly while fiddling with Kuma-chan's ear. He sat very still as if something was telling him that Kakashi had more to say and he might not like it.

"Did Taka tell you that?"

"No," Naruto answered simply.

"Did you hear it from someone else?"

Naruto was silent, but he continued to fiddle with the bear in his lap until he began to blink more rapidly as if he were fighting sleep . . . or tears.

"Naruto, how old are you?" Kakashi tried again. This time, Naruto's chin started to waver a bit and Kakashi backtracked a little.

"I think this is a very cute bear. Did Dr. Susuno give it to you?" he asked, mentioning the ophthalmologist. Naruto had taken to the older man well. Kakashi liked him for the easy going attitude and the gift he seemed to have with children. The squat man, perhaps in his mid-forties, with graying hair cut close to his head, a bulbous nose and soft grey eyes could take on Naruto's case anytime as far as he was concerned. Kakashi wouldn't even have to ask to know that Iruka felt the same. Naruto relaxed a little and looked owlishly at Kakashi. The blinking had stopped and he took it as a good sign to try and continue questioning him.

"You know I wish I'd had a bear like that when I was a kid. I never got anything that nice, even for my birthday."

Naruto perked up a bit at this as if Kakashi had said words he didn't understand but wanted to know. Kakashi smiled inside a little and continued.

"Do you know what a birthday is, Naruto?"

"Maybe," Naruto said and Kakashi smiled for real this time.

"Your birthday is October, right? On the tenth?" Iruka grinned as he leaned on the window ledge behind them and spoke up then.

"You know that's only in a few weeks. And just think, maybe you can get Kakashi, who hates spending money, to get you something. But we don't know the things you like and don't like. So, maybe you can tell us if someone got you something special but you secretly hated it? It's okay if you did. Really, Naruto, we don't want you to get anything from us that you don't like."

"Get me something?" Naruto was trying to figure out what they were trying to get him to say, so it wouldn't be the wrong thing. "Like another Kuma-chan?"

"Something like that, only you already have one, so we mean something else you like."

Naruto brightened up and rose up on his hands to lean into Kakashi's space. The older man fought to keep his position relaxed at the sudden move at the same time as he wanted to push the child back to the pillows. He looked so frail and his feet were bare. He would have to mention it to the nurse. He hadn't been wearing shoes his size, though it couldn't have been for long as he only had minor redness on his toes instead of anything seriously wrong with them as a result. There was a reason women's feet had deformed in China during the foot-binding practice that, surprisingly, lasted until the early 19th century. Kakashi had done a paper on it for his Women's studies class at Mitarashi University. His major was in Psychology, and he had a certification in child development, but he'd almost lost his standing when he'd failed to complete enough credits for his bachelor's degree. He had only needed one, so he'd taken the first class to catch his eye during the summer. As it turned out, it gave him an advantage with more than just the criminals he saw on a daily basis. Naruto tugged at his sleeve and he looked at the blue eyes he was sure probably couldn't visualize much. Naruto surprised him again during the two days he'd known him, delightfully so.

"Hey," he whispered, "I got a train once, only it was little. I had a cake too, with special frosting because it was _my_ birthday. He forgot the other times, see? So he wanted to make it better. Can I ride on a train?"

Kakashi had looked over at Iruka quickly at the mention of a man giving him a cake and a train, but forgetting at other times. Naruto had not said it was Taka and Kakashi knew he would have. At that moment though, Dr, Susuno came into the room, along with the current physician-on-call for the general ward. Kakashi stood up and watched Naruto peer at the two men, squinting slightly. He apparently made out Dr. Susuno because he waved a little and pointed out Kuma-chan, the bear, and then pointed to Kakashi and Iruka.

"They came to see me again. I think that means they really aren't trolls, even though I knew that already. Kakashi says I might get a birthday present. I want to ride on a train."

He seemed very excited, perhaps from all the talking and the visiting. There was a rosy flush to his cheeks. Kakashi frowned when the lead physician for his care took a thermometer from the nurse and held it to Naruto's ear.

"It's really not all that hot in here and he hasn't been moving around much yet this morning," he explained to Iruka's questioning gaze. He frowned at the thermometer when it beeped loudly and asked Naruto to sit up for a minute while he listened to his chest. Though he hadn't been coughing as far as Kakashi and Iruka had heard, the doctor seemed to hear something as he turned to speak quietly to the nurse.

"I'm ordering a CBC and a Chem. Panel."

To Naruto and the others he added, "He had a few coughing fits in the ER. The blood-work they performed there didn't show anything, but the fits started again last night and with the fever, I want rule out pneumonia. I'll start him on antibiotics now while we wait. I'll be back in a couple of hours with the results and more medication." The nurse injected a needle into the IV to deliver it and with that he left the room. Dr. Susuno stepped forward once he'd gone.

"Well that wasn't very nice of him, leaving like that, now was it?" he asked Naruto who solemnly shook his head.

"Don't worry; he's very good at his job. And if it is pneumonia, while that sounds scary, it can be quite common when you spend nights outside in early September. I'm sure you'll be fine in no time at all," he said, more for Iruka and Kakashi who looked a little haggard around the edges, than for Naruto, who continued to stare at him.

"You're necklace is blue. It's pretty," Naruto said numbly and Kakashi and Iruka shook their heads at each other. Kakashi sighed. It was going to be a long road, he was sure. But the smile that crossed Naruto's face when the doctor took the necklace off, a light winking over his face and then Naruto's as he did so, was worth a hell of a lot. Naruto, surprise and delight clear in his eyes as he gingerly took the necklace, made from some kind of rare metal and formed into three crystal shaped pendants, the middle larger than the two surrounding it.

"You can hold onto that for a bit while I check your eyes and put in some more drops." He slid a rolling stool near the bed and pulled a numbered chart on a pole that neither of the other men had noticed was in the room over.

"I'd rather do this at an office but the child needs to get some kind of prescription as soon as possible. I figure since I consult here on occasion and they have this, it can't hurt to get him started. I can drop by with a pair of glasses if he's here long enough or just give you the prescription . . . hopefully anyway. His cataracts may have progressed to the point of needing surgery."

"We're aware of that and Iruka has a social worker taking care of the details for our application to foster him. They should be done and here by the end of the week," Kakashi told him.

Iruka had taken a leave of absence at work and listed Kakashi's address as his own for Kurenai. She had said that she would need to call in a lot of favors considering the government of Japan was beginning to subscribe to the adage 'the best parent is both parents', which in their mind's also meant heterosexual couples undoubtedly always won out over the rare homosexual couple who tried to adopt. Things might be changing, tolerance and western ideations winning out over tradition and then again over the former western culture's ideals concerning gays and marriage and gays and child-raising, but not fast enough for Iruka. Or, Kakashi had to admit, for himself now. Dr. Susuno, rather than glaring at them mistrustfully as all Naruto's other doctors had that traipsed through the room as if they'd installed a revolving door, said nothing. He simply nodded and lowered himself onto the stool and called Naruto over to sit at the foot of the bed. He asked Naruto to cover his left eye with a large, black plastic spoon, or at least that's what it looked like to Kakashi. There was probably some medical term for it to make it sound better. To him, it was just one more reason to start a search for his parents' location, and perhaps the local hospitals, for evidence that Naruto might have been a patient at an earlier time. He'd already checked with the medical records technician at Okada and found nothing. They watched silently as Dr. Susuno ran through the eye exam with Naruto. When he was done he called them over.

"I can develop a prescription if he comes with me to the exam room on the third floor. It has all the equipment I need in order to form a base line. As I said, the prescription may need to be developed further, or I may need to add tinting to the lenses to accommodate for the bright lights and the halos."

"Bright lights? Halos?" Iruka asked, interrupted him.

Dr. Susuno smiled. "Basically Naruto, when he looks at a headlight or a street lamp, has a degree of photosensitivity. His squinting to the bright lights of a hospital from the dark night outside gave me that impression. I tested for it in the ER with the lights dimmed. He also told me he sees halos, though not in those words, around street lamps or the headlights of cars. Don't worry; I've got pamphlets with me that you can read. For now, I've decided I really don't want to wait to test just how much of his vision I can help him with."

"Naruto," he turned to the boy, "we're going to go for a walk. I'm going to take you to an exam room, like the one you were in downstairs."

Naruto balked when the doctor told him that. He didn't want to go near a room where they might take his clothes.

"Relax, it's only so I can check your eyes out better. That way, when I come back at the end of the week, I might have some glasses that will help you see better."

Naruto took a moment to process this and then nodded. When Dr. Susuno took his hand and helped him off the bed, he seemed to make a decision.

"Can they come?"

Dr. Susuno looked up at the other two men and nodded. The nurse got him settled into a wheelchair and traveled down with them so she could work the IV along. When the arrived at the exam room, the doctor ushered them in and made sure everyone was settled before he helped Naruto into the exam chair. He brought the phoropter down so that Naruto could see it and explained that it was going to help him calculate how to help his vision if he indeed could. Naruto looked at the strange contraption with its dials on the side and the little view-holes with interest.

"What does calculate mean?" he asked, pronouncing the word until it sounded exactly as it had coming from the doctor.

"Ah, well it means . . ." the doctor fumbled a little. "It means to come up with, I guess. And this," he pointed to the machine, "is called a phoropter. I'm sure not even Kakashi-kun or Iruka-san knew that. But, you do."

Kakashi bristled at the use of the lower honorific on his name but couldn't stop the bark of laughter from escaping him when Naruto smiled a tiny, smug smile and stuck his tongue out at them cutely. Iruka chuckled as well and the doctor smiled even wider. Dr. Susuno brought the phoropter into position as he talked and guided Naruto's head onto the chin rest, making it line up properly with the small holes Naruto was to look through. When he began flipping through the dials to start off at a point he felt might be an improvement, basing it off of the chart readings, Naruto jumped a little in the chair and leaned back from the machine. He stared at it dumbly while Iruka hummed in the back of his throat, trying to keep from laughing. It really wasn't all that funny, considering how Naruto's life must have been. Kakashi could hear it but his eyes were riveted to the boy. It was astounding how much Naruto didn't seem to know at his age. But, then the possibility that much of that had come from being raised in part by someone who was mentally impaired hit him. And he really didn't think it had been Taka. Taka had looked like many people did when living on the streets for years. The child, while malnourished and unclean, had not had the problems with his teeth and hair that Kakashi had learned to associate with someone who'd suffered homelessness for a prolonged period. The idea that naruto had been held somewhere, or had been raised at least in part, by someone else also mentally impaired fit. Of course, that revelation just added more questions and Kakashi resolved to comb the child's and the parents' records again. That they had moved out of the country itched and rankled at him. It wasn't unheard of for a family to give up hope after so long, but never to the point that they would move away, not if they had loved the child. Most mothers enshrined the room and the fathers tended to hound the police, even after years of fruitless searching, to find their child. Why had they moved away?

Dr. Susuno's steady voice broke through his thoughts abruptly. He was asking Naruto to tell him when the little numbers inside looked clearer or not or if they stayed the same. When he was finished, Naruto looked worn out. He yawned boldly and they all got a clear view of his teeth, canines oddly sharper than they were perhaps meant to be. The nurse helped him back into the wheelchair while Dr. Susuno pulled Kakashi and Iruka aside.

"Well," he started while sighing, "his eyes are pretty bad. I was only able to correct them to about 20/80. It's better than his previous tests of 20/200. That's nearly half blind. But, only correcting them to that point, at such a young and with this kind of condition isn't good enough. I'll leave some pamphlets about the surgery and you can give me a call once all the paper work goes through. Talk to him about it as well. But I would suggest making an appointment no earlier than six months from now. My reasoning is that he should have a lot of cognitive behavioral therapy as well as some measure of schooling first, so that I'm sure he'll be able to understand the condition and the surgery. He's too young to have to deal with it without my being sure he can understand or not. If he can't, we can work around it. But my feeling is that there's hope for him to gain nearly the same level of intelligence as a normal eleven year old."

The doctor said farewell then, promising to return at the end of the week, but before Naruto was released, with a frame book for Naruto to look through. Kakashi caught the last of what he had said and turned to Iruka.

"Eleven? I thought you said he was twelve," He accused.

"He will be, in about three weeks. So, I rounded up a little," Iruka tried to defend his actions.

"Iruka, that means he's confused about his age," Kakashi growled.

"Nu-uh," Naruto said sleepily from the wheelchair as it was wheeled into the room. "The other doctor and Iruka explained it all. I'm eleven, but I'm going to be twelve. But, I can't wait that long, so I said they could say I was twelve already. Are you mad, Kakashi?"

"Mad? No, I'm not mad," but he had a hard time keeping the steel edge from whipping Iruka, as it should.

"You are," Naruto replied drowsily as he cocooned himself in his blanket, careful to keep Kuma-chan on top so he could stroke him lightly. "But, that's okay. You'll get better soon. If it helps, I could tell you a story. Taka told me a few. I know one a-about . . . a train," Naruto yawned widely through his little speech and Kakashi sighed.

"I'm not mad anymore, as long as you understand, Naruto."

"Good. Can we go ride the train now? I want to."

"No, Naruto, you need to stay here. But I can leave a little something for you to get snacks with. The nurse can go get them for you."

"Can I have M&Ms? They're really good. And a soda, too. The orange one is my favorite."

Kakashi laughed a little and left some yen coins on the night table as Iruka blanched at the mention of junk food. Naruto opened an eye to peek out at them when he heard the tinkling sound they made on the wood. He shifted them around and started counting silently, naming each one correctly. Kakashi smiled. He knew numbers and he knew how to count. He also had seen money. Maybe, with the help of a cognitive therapist, a private tutor, and some time, they'd be able to get him to school by the time he was thirteen. Okay, so that was ambitious, but he could hope. They left the room quietly as the nurse turned down the light and Naruto drifted off to sleep.

Naruto woke up slowly. The light in the room was dim and so it was harder for him to make out everything in the room. The chair by the bed was easier to see because the soft light spilling over the bed from the wide lamp just over his head. There were clothes on the seat. A light blue sweater, white undershirt, a pair of jeans, underwear and socks, even shoes, were just sitting there. A nurse saw his eyes and smiled.

"Kakashi brought them by. He said he thought the sweater would be too big, but that he knew you'd grow into it. Wasn't that nice? I can help you try them on tomorrow if you'd like. Did you want something to drink before I go? Maybe something from the vending machine?" she spoke out quietly.

Naruto eyed the money on the table but shook his head. He had a better idea of what he wanted to do with it. The nurse left then, quietly shutting the door until there was a line of light from the hallway peeking through. Naruto waited until he didn't hear any footsteps and climbed out of bed. The pants were easy enough and the shoes. They fit better than his other ones and didn't hurt when he walked. They were a dark blue that he liked very much. Even the shirts went around the tube okay but he knew it would have to come out, which meant the alarm would go off. Naruto frowned a bit before going to the door to check the station he could just make out in the deep shadows at the end of the hall. He didn't see anyone there and thought it might be a good time. Pulling the tube out after he'd gone back to get the money, he headed for the stairway. It would be quieter than the elevator. Once downstairs he was able to sneak past the guard easy, being so small and quick. Outside the hospital, Naruto breathed in the chill air deeply and opened his chest wide. It was refreshing after the stuffy hospital room, even if the bed was a lot comfier than the blanket spread over the pavement that he'd been used to. Naruto knew that there had to be a station nearby because it was a big, important building and the train went to important places. He'd seen men and women in sharp looking clothes and carrying important looking boxes and cases from the overpass all the time. Walking along the streets until he found a stair and a picture of a train on the sign, Naruto headed down. When he reached the turnstile at the bottom, he frowned and pouted. He didn't want to jump over it because he thought that might be wrong. But he saw a woman put a card into a slot and figured that was how you got through. Now, how did he get one? The guard at the lighted boxes that had lines and trains on them came over to talk to him, smiling.

"Are you lost, young man?"

"How do I get on?"

"Excuse me?" the guard asked, a little puzzled frown gracing his features. Naruto didn't catch it.

"How do I get on the train?" Naruto asked again patiently. The guard scratched his head and told him how to put the money in the slot and to put in where you wanted to go, then take the card and run it through the slot at the turnstile. Naruto did as he said, but stopped before picking a destination.

"Which one is for the tower?" Naruto knew the name of the place he lived in, Shibuya, but not where the tower was in Tokyo. He couldn't read the kanji on the sign either. He had never been able to; they were all too small for him to make out. The guard scratched his head thoughtfully.

"Well, the tower is in the Minato ward, which borders this so . . . ," he reached over to the light box and pressed a few buttons. Naruto handed him the money when he asked for it. It turned out Kakashi had left just enough for him; perfect. The card came out and Naruto raced through the turnstile before the guard knew what had happened.

"Hey, wait! You shouldn't ride the train so late by yourself. What are you doing? The shops are closed now anyway!" the guard called hoping to stall the boy.

He moved so fast, he knew he would never be able to catch him. The doors of the train sitting at the station closed just as Naruto entered. The guard looked stricken as he realized what had happened. About an hour later, when two men came streaking down the stairwell, asking him about a young blonde boy, the guar was relieved. He hadn't looked in any shape to be out so late at night and without a proper jacket. Though it was still only mid-December, the air had gotten cold very quickly after the sun set. He hoped the child would be alright until the men, one of them identified himself with a badge belonging to the Violent Crime Division of Shibuya Police Headquarters, had found him.

Kakashi threw an apologetic look at Iruka as they boarded the train.

"Honestly, I know he wanted to ride one but I never thought he'd sneak off in the middle of the night to do it."

"It's fine. We'll find him," Iruka said through clenched teeth, "We'll find him." Kakashi couldn't tell if his lover was only angry or worried as well. It didn't matter right now though; they had to find Naruto first.

On the train, Naruto stood near the door, working a little harder than he used to so he could get his breath back. It must be the pneu-, the pnu-, whatever they had called it. There were seats at either end of the floor and an open space in the middle. Naruto loved every minute of the ride. He could hear the machine as it sailed along the tracks and felt the hum of it under his feet. There was another boy on the train and Naruto walked over to him slowly, weaving with the movement of the train. He had darker hair, but it looked funny, held up at the back of his head and an odd kind of blue at the tips. He also looked pale and cold. Naruto wondered if he might be sick, like him and took off his sweater to cover the boy with. Then, since he was sleeping and couldn't look out for the trolls. Naruto turned to face the empty train and stood watch. He heard the boy stir softly and mumble a little. Naruto turned back and smiled.

"Hello," he said brightly. The boy looked surprised, mouth hanging open a little and then scowled down art the sweater in his hand.

"Did you- Did you do this?"

"Yep! You looked cold. My name's Naruto."

"Sasuke," the other boy introduced himself, blinking up at him. Sasuke reached out a hand for him to shake, then pulled it back quickly to stare at it, stunned.

The boy stood up then but a sheaf of papers and a thick pencil fell to the floor as he did so.

"Shit!" he exclaimed and began picking them up. "I don't need your help. Go away."

"Not even to catch that one?" Naruto asked after a stray page that had been blown by the rush of air from the tracks that seeped into the train at the front.

"It's fine, don't touch," the boy snarled. Naruto scurried back from him carefully.

"I was just making sure the trolls didn't get to you while you slept. Did you know there's blue in your hair? It looks funny," he said defensively, pouting.

"Trolls?" The boy eyed the empty train cautiously before raising an eyebrow at him.

"What are talking about? There's no one here," he scoffed. Then he peered at the other boy. "Naruto," he said, rolling the name on his tongue a little. "You're weird, go away," he finished decidedly.

"Fine," Naruto said, shrugging. "But, you should put that on, it's cold and you get sick like I did from being outside too much without one," he pointed to the sweater.

Sasuke felt the chill in his hands and he needed them more than anything. How else was he going to draw? He pulled the sweater on over his head and sighed at the soft fabric. It wasn't his style, but it would do until they got to the last stop and he could make his way back home. Naruto smiled at him and he looked away feeling angry and self-conscious. He'd put the sweater on so he didn't have to do or say anything else to him, right?

"You draw good. At least I think. I like this one," Naruto squinted at the top page and without touching anything and Sasuke grabbed them all up in his arms reflexively.

"Don't touch," he hissed, "And, it's you draw _well_ not good. What's wrong with you anyway?"

"I might have pneu- numonia," Naruto practiced carefully. "And cataracts in my eyes," he added helpfully. When faced with a direct question, as long as it wasn't where he slept or his name or age, he didn't mind answering. Sasuke stared at him blankly.

"What?"

"I said -," Naruto started louder, maybe Sasuke couldn't hear very well over the rush of the train?

"I heard what you said. Shut up and sit down, will you?" Sasuke snarled a little then felt uneasy about it. Naruto really hadn't seemed to be lying about anything yet, after all. The train rushed into the station that brought them near Tokyo Tower and the automated voice announced their stop. Naruto brightened up and smiled widely at him and Sasuke blinked.

"I get off here. I want to see the tower," he said enigmatically.

"W-wait," Sasuke rushed forward and caught his arm as he started to cross the threshold. Naruto tugged at hid arm sharply, not liking the sudden contact.

"Let go!"

"Don't be stupid! You can't go to the tower by yourself! It's late and none of the stuff is open anyway!"

"I don't care! I want to see it! Let go!"

"Hey, I'm just trying to look-"

"I don't want your help! I have Kakashi now – and Iruka – and I can take care of myself!" Naruto pushed at Sasuke then twisted in his grip until he felt the hand give way. He swiveled around but the doors had started to close on him before he could get out of the way. They didn't jump back from any obstruction, even a body. Naruto felt something slam into him from behind and ended up winded on the ground with Sasuke on top of him.

"S-sorry," Sasuke mumbled in his ear, his limbs tangled into a mess with Naruto's and their chests pressed together. Then he made a face as if what he'd said had tasted badly. He scrambled up and helped Naruto to his feet shakily.

"I told you to be careful."

"No, you didn't. You said not to go out," Naruto exclaimed petulantly. Sasuke lowered his eyes to the ground and scowled again.

"Yeah, whatever."

Naruto sighed and coughed a little and Sasuke looked up at him. He noticed the flush and the sweat glistening on his forehead. His cheeks had gone pale too. So, he really was sick? Just then, Sasuke heard a rush of feet and he turned around to see two men heading down the stairwell toward them. Sasuke backed off warily, not sue who they were or what hey wanted. The worry in their eyes told him they were probably here for Naruto, but he couldn't be sure.

"Naruto! There you are! You had us so worried!" Iruka rushed up to Naruto and stopped to crouch down and look him over for any injuries without touching him.

"Hi, Iruka," Naruto said calmly then turned to Sasuke. "This is Iruka. And that's Kakashi," he pointed to him as he sauntered over, hands in his pockets.

"Hey," Kakashi said with a wave and then he, too, bent down to look at Naruto.

"You know, Iruka's right. We were all very worried about you when no one knew where you were. It's not a good thing to do that, running off without telling anyone."

"Worried?" Naruto asked, frowning. "Like scared?"

"Yes, Naruto, a bit like scared. Do you understand?" Kakashi held his gaze until Naruto blinked and rubbed at his eyes, shaking his head.

"Do your eyes hurt? How about your chest? Have you been coughing at all?" Kakashi questioned further while Iruka headed over to Sasuke and knelt a few feet away from him.

"Hi, I'm Umino Iruka. Can you tell me your name? This isn't exactly a good place to be so late at night by yourself."

Sasuke looked warily at the men and backed away a little. His gaze flitted over to Naruto and he caught sight of the hospital bracelet for the first time.

"Is he really sick?" he asked quietly.

Iruka glanced at Kakashi cautiously.

"A little," he replied, "but he's getting better."

"So he's not going to die? People who are in the hospital die sometimes," Sasuke asked, his face a dead calm.

"No, he is _not_ going to die," Iruka said firmly but before he could say anything else, Sasuke had moved over to stand in front of Naruto.

"Okay, that's good I guess. You don't look like his Dad, or you," he tuned back to look at Iruka shrewdly, "And you don't have the same family name."

Iruka gaped at the boy for a moment before Kakashi laughed softly and shook his head.

"Well, you're very smart," to which Sasuke simply nodded as if he'd been told that many times before.

"No we aren't his parents but we may be able to have him live with us, as foster parents." Turning to stare evenly at Naruto and making sure to catch his wavering eyesight, Kakashi asked, "Would you like that?"

Naruto blinked before nodding at him and smiling at Sasuke.

"Okay," Sasuke said again.

Iruka sighed and tried to think of what to do about this strange boy while Kakashi guided Naruto over to a bench to sit down. He had pulled his jacket off to cover Naruto from the night chill that drew puffs of white smoke from their breath. Sasuke, Kakashi had noticed, was wearing Naruto's brand new long sleeved sweater. He pulled it off and handed it over to him.

"He gave it to me on the train. I fell asleep while drawing and he said I looked cold. He was standing in front of me the whole time and when I asked, he told me that he had to make sure none of the trolls got to me while I slept. He's weird," he said plainly. Then he turned and began heading toward the stairs that lead to the surface street.

"Whoa, where are you going? I can't just let you go home by yourself. Besides, it's far too cold for you to be walking without a better jacket," Iruka called out.

Sasuke kept going as Kakashi called to his lover.

"Iruka!"

Iruka cast his eyes behind him to see Naruto in Kakashi arms.

"He nearly collapsed before I could get him to sit. I think his fever's gone back up. Naruto, honey, can you here me? It's Kakashi."

Iruka rushed over, pulling his phone out as he went. Naruto blinked and looked blearily up at them, frowning.

"Kakashi?" Naruto slurred at him.

"Yes, that's right, and Iruka's here too."

"Where's Sasuke?" Kakashi glanced at Iruka who was on the phone with an emergency dispatcher asking for an ambulance. He didn't see Sasuke at all anywhere. He had no idea what to say.

"He's gone, Naruto," he said quietly. "Stay awake for me now. Did you two meet on the train?"

Kakashi tried to keep Naruto awake and talking. Passing out was not a good sign when someone was ill.

"Hmmm, gone? I don't want him to be gone. Where's Taka? If he's not here, the trolls might come."

Kakashi felt his heart pound in his chest a little faster. Whatever Naruto had seen, whatever had happened to his eyes and his memory, he was going to find it. He didn't think this Taka had anything to do with it, but he needed to be found, if only to question him on how Naruto had come to be living near the overpass. Iruka closed the phone when they heard sirens just outside the station entrance. Kakashi smiled reassuringly at him and lifted Naruto into his arms gently. Naruto swung an arm over Kakashi's shoulder, sleep dragging at his eyes heavily. He rubbed at his eyes trying to stay awake as Kakashi had asked.

"I'm tired, Kakashi," he mumbled.

"I know and you're going to get some rest, back in your room. Then, pretty soon you'll be feeling a lot better and you can come home with Iruka and I. Would you like that?" Kakashi rambled as they made their way up to the paramedics heading down the stairs.

"I guess so," Naruto answered. His eyes slid closed and he passed out as Kakashi put him on the gurney the technicians had guided him to. He and Iruka made their way to their car and followed the ambulance to the hospital, both too nervous to speak. Kakashi drove since Iruka had turned so pale he thought another stretcher might be warranted. Was it really possible for someone to become so attached to a person in so short a time? Is this that clichéd beginning, love at first sight? Or, was their some truth to what a doctor saw inside a hospital delivery room? When a father holds his child for the first time? Except Naruto wasn't theirs, not yet, and for all that he trusted Kurenai to work her magic with the system, he might stay that way.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** Your reviews were amazing. Thank you. Hopefully, this will curb the itch for more. I'm trying my best to make updates periodic. Please forgive it if they seem long in wait. I hope you all enjoy the new chapter! And, I'm glad you all seemed pleasantly surprised at Sasuke's early appearance. Someone mentioned that it seemed as though I torture poor Naruto in all my fics. So far, I guess it does, though I have another fic idea I hope to get around to eventually that is focused more on Sasuke and his troubles. That one will take a while as I think three is more than enough to start with. Plus, I can't seem to help it. I like seeing my favorite blonde-haired trickster in trouble so people like Kakashi, Iruka or Sasuke can help him out of it!  I hope you all enjoy the new chapter! It has more Naruto/Iruka/Kakashi development! Yeah!

**Chapter 3**

The hum and swish of air filled the room quietly. Iruka settled into a new position on the chair beside Naruto, trying to get comfortable. The tests had come back positive for a mild case of pneumonia but Naruto's fever had already begun to recede. They were told if he continued to recover this quickly then he might be well enough to be discharged later on in the week as planned. Provided, of course, there were no repeat nighttime wanderings. Kakashi snored softly on the cot the hospital had provided and Iruka glared at him. True, he had given up the space, not wanting to crowd him. Or more likely, not wanting to risk Kakashi's devilish hands around his waist, but damn it, he just couldn't sleep. The chair that had looked so inviting before dug into his back in strange ways he hadn't imagined possible earlier that night.

"Iruka," Naruto murmured sleepily from the bed. Iruka dragged his tired body up and over to his side in moments.

"Hey there, Naruto. How are you feeling?"

"Tired," Naruto answered, blinking drowsily.

"Is Kakashi asleep?"

Iruka glanced at his partner again, this time smiling softly. He could never stay angry for long. Kakashi told him it only meant he would be a pushover when Naruto finally made it to the house. Iruka had sniffed and given him a cold stare that grew into a lengthy treatment of Kakashi and all his attempts to apologize being ignored. He could be just as infuriating as Iruka could be petulant.

"Yes, he's asleep," he whispered, remembering Naruto finally.

He started when he felt a gentle touch on his hand and looked down to see Naruto had wrapped his fingers loosely over it. Naruto smiled wanly then grimaced and coughed harshly. It had gotten worse since the paramedics had gotten him to the hospital. Naruto made a face and accepted the cup of ice Iruka held out for him but couldn't seem to focus on it enough to draw any close to his face. So, Iruka fed him a few and then leaned onto the bed. Of all the questions he had asked himself, and all the ones Kakashi and he had discussed on the tense ride back, one stood out clearly now.

"Naruto," he started a bit hesitant, not wanting to make him upset and cause the built up fluid in his chest to get worse. The tube running air into his lungs through small extensions in his nose hissed softly. Naruto struggled to keep Iruka in focus long enough to nod.

"Do you remember where you were before the overpass?"

Iruka held his breath as Naruto seemed to consider the question quietly. He didn't seem distressed, other than not being able to pull in enough air that it wheezed as he exhaled. It sounded horrible.

"I was someplace . . . special, I think," Naruto said, frowning as if trying to remember. Iruka felt his heart flutter. To a social worker that could mean any number of things, not all of them good. A shifting of cloth to the right and Kakashi sat up on the cot yawning.

"Well, hey there, kid. What's up?"

Naruto frowned at him and looked at the ceiling. He actually looked at it, as if it should be obvious but was confused by the fact that Kakashi had asked. Iruka felt his face tighten and pull down. He felt old suddenly. Maybe they really weren't ready for something this involved. Kakashi reached out and grabbed his free hand, Naruto still clutched warmly around the other, and squeezed. The doubt was still there, deep seated in his mind, but he could feel the strength of his lover in that grip. He drew in a deep breath and blew it out in one large gust to settle the flurry of panic in his stomach. It helped.

"So, this special place," Iruka settled around the words and his tongue fought the fear of what might have happened. "Was there anyone there with you?"

Naruto glanced at the sheet and sighed a little. His hands shook almost imperceptibly and Iruka wanted to take them back. But Naruto surprised them by answering.

"I think so. But I can't really remember why he's not here now. I remember Taka. I remember . . . I remember when I woke up that he was there smiling and he said he would take care of me. 'Cause I was special and I shouldn't have nobody to take care of me," he all but whined and Kakashi rubbed at his arm and shushed him.

It was his turn, then, to glare at Iruka. There were doctors for this kind of thing. But Kakashi's anger dried nearly as quickly as it had been born when he saw the wounded look in Iruka's eyes.

"Well, it's a good thing he was there then, to take care of you. If he hadn't, Iruka might not have nearly run you over with his car and then where would we be? I can say I'd be at home, and this one," he pointed sharply at his life-mate, "would be curled on the couch snoring away after spending too much time at work. We'll all have a chance to do something different now."

His voice was soothing, and encouraging, though Naruto didn't really understand everything he meant. His mind rolled over what he'd seen in the past day and he smiled again. It felt warmer than any other thing in the world, even the distant memory of a gentle smile and a woman's singing. And her scent . . . what had that been like again? There was something wrong with that time, maybe, but he couldn't remember that either. He shied away, afraid and shuddering a little.

"Naruto?" Iruka called softly. "Are you cold?" Naruto missed the hopeful edge underneath. Anyway, who hoped for that? Iruka fought from kicking Kakashi back when he felt a rampant limb connect with his shin dangling over the edge of the bed.

"A little," Naruto lied. He knew that was wrong. Taka had told him. Someone else had said that too; many voices in fact. One of them had been angry, all the time, always angry and rough. He whimpered and curled up to hug his knees. When Iruka tried to touch his shoulder he pushed away. His breathing became deeper, harsher, but there wasn't as much air as he remembered. He struggled to keep from coughing even though his throat tickled and burned dreadfully. A nurse hurried in and administered some kind of medication. Naruto's restless struggles quieted almost immediately and Iruka sighed a little in relief. He unclenched his hands, barely noticing that he'd done it in the first place. Kakashi drew the nurse aside and she glanced back at Naruto every so often as they murmured, too low for either of the others to hear.

"I understand that we don't legally have rights to his records yet, but I'd like to have a copy made, if the hospital will allow it. I could use my capacity as an officer, but would rather it not come to that." The nurse gave him a guarded look and then pursed her lips.

"I'll see what his primary physician here has to say about it," she answered gruffly, not giving an inch. Kakashi smiled richly and her stern gaze faltered a bit.

"Thank you, and also, if we could get an extra blanket for him I'm sure he'd really appreciate it."

He smiled cheerily at her as she went off in search of another cheap, hospital-issue, cotton blanket and sighed as soon as the door clicked.

Turning back he watched on, amused, as Iruka leaned as close to Naruto as he dared without disturbing the restless slumber the sleeping medication had sent him into. It was going to be a long night, for sure. But it was alright with him if it meant they drew closer to bonding with the mall, lively child. It was even better if they could garner more answers as to how he'd come to be left in such a perilous and lonely place as that bridge.

"Iruka," he hummed.

Iruka continued to study Naruto thoughtfully and only reacted when Kakashi touched his back lightly.

"Iruka, come to the cot with me. I promise to keep all hands in their proper position the entire night," he joked nimbly.

"Hmmm? Oh, yes, alright," Iruka mumbled distractedly.

He rested Naruto's hand on top the bed gently after rubbing the back of it with his thumb a few more times and settled into the cot. He sighed gratefully at the soft mattress and the leftover warmth from his lover.

"Kakashi?"

"Hmmm?" Kakashi heard the question just as he had begun to drowse off again.

"This _is_ right, what we're doing, isn't it? I know it will be hard. It's a long road stretching ahead of us I'm sure, especially for him. But we are doing it right, aren't we?"

Kakashi grinned and kissed the back of his neck and nuzzled him tenderly. Iruka allowed it for the comfort, even though it was definitely out of the bounds he'd set while they were in front of Naruto, asleep or not. And they would stay that way, Kakashi's wonderful hands be damned, until they found a way to explain things, delicately. Kakashi grinned wider, never mind that there had been two separate questions, two separate concerns, in that plea. He knew Iruka well. There was nothing more rewarding to him than helping a child away from danger no matter the risk or how great the task seemed. It probably stemmed from the man's own childhood trauma, having been abandoned by his coked out mother who had finally overdosed and his father, whose name no one even knew for sure. He hugged Iruka tightly to him for a moment before letting the man breathe again.

"It _is_ right. Even though our intentions are good, and that doesn't always mean everything will turn out perfectly, we'll make it work. I've already been stocking up on psych books from the university. I even got the name of a highly respected child psychologist and cognitive therapist too."

"Kakashi . . . really? When did you . . ." Iruka couldn't hide his surprise.

"Kakashi chuckled lightly before being shushed by Iruka's hand over his mouth. Iruka had squirmed around to face him in order to so it so he wasn't going to complain. He did raise an eyebrow delightedly when the hand stayed there and Iruka felt the heat of his breath on his fingers. Iruka dropped his hand quickly and looked away. Kakashi nearly broke another cardinal rule and laughed full-out in the presence of a sick, sleeping child again. That thought sobered him quicker than a bucket of ice water and he settled for a thin smile.

"I had time late last night to visit the library. You know how late hey run for the college kiddies," he quipped. "As for the psych guy," Iruka made a face at him over that one and Kakashi kissed his nose. "I ran into him at the library while checking out and he had the most intuitive questions. I thought, at first, he might actually have been connected to whatever happened to Naruto."

Iruka drew in a hard breath and Kakashi rushed to quiet him.

"Hey, you think I'd have mentioned taking Naruto to see him if I hadn't had the night guys at the station run a very thorough background check first? Plus, you still need to meet him before we take the squirt over," Kakashi soothed.

"Glad I'm still a part of the process for you," Iruka groused and Kakashi drew back, feeling a little hurt.

But Iruka looked just as wounded, so he let it slide. He snuggled in to his shoulder and was rewarded, eventually, with an answering touch on his back as they caressed each other affectionately for a few moments. A soft knock on the door heralded the return of the night-shift nurse and they pulled away from each other, Iruka standing to stretch his legs a little and open it up for her. She glanced in to check one more time that Naruto's breathing tube was in place and that his oxygen level had come back up from the dip of a few minutes ago and nodded to Kakashi. She handed the blanket over to Iruka who unfolded it and snapped it out and over the boy. The nurse left, then, as silently as she'd arrived. Iruka went back to cuddle against Kakashi's shoulder a moment before turning over to settle in for some much needed sleep. In the morning, when they came to take Naruto's vitals and give him another dose of antibiotics, he would be making some more calls of his own.

Naruto awoke with an odd feeling in his chest. It felt warm, though it wasn't the heat of the room that caused it. At least, he didn't think it was. Shifting to his right, he saw that Iruka and Kakashi had gone, the rumpled sheets on the cot looking a bit lonely in their absence. Slowly, he rose up on his hands and reached out for the pillow at the head of the bed. It smelled like Kakashi. His Kuma-chan had been resting against it and there was a note pinned to the front. Naruto frowned. He couldn't read kanji. Well, he knew a few of them but they were always written too small for him to make out. He'd been here for several days already and they had either stayed through the night or visited long into the afternoon, far past the time the nurses told him was allowed.

He smiled at that. He wasn't sure why. He should be taking better care of himself, as Taka had taught him. He still didn't know all that much about them, where they wanted to take him, what they really wanted. But for the first time in forever, he simply let things be as they were, waiting until there was a reason to worry before actually doing it.

The lung doctor, as he'd introduced himself to Naruto a few days ago, told him yesterday that he was well enough to go home today. But he was waiting for Dr. Susuno. He said that he would be stopping by today with his new glasses. Naruto worried about them. Not how they would look or what people would think. He avoided others as much as possible and had watched enough of them to know when they were going to be awful, so he could run and find Taka or their little home under the trains.

Naruto sighed. He had a feeling that what really caused the knot in his stomach to twist so much had to do with Kakashi's job as a cop. Iruka . . . Iruka had asked him . . . about _before_. He struggled to try and remember more, because it had seemed so important and he hadn't wanted to make him sad. Deep down he felt it would be bad to remember though. And that scared him. A knock sounded at the door and Naruto turned his head to see Dr. Susuno's outline entering, blurred and wavering a little. He grinned vastly up at him and Dr. Susuno smiled. Well, that's how it looked. Naruto could never be sure every time. Sometimes, smiles warped perversely and the faces he could barely make out through the blurred edges changed. Naruto swallowed and waited to see if there would be any yelling, or worse, that twisted face from his dreams. He took a deep breath, quietly so no one would notice the shaking, and that helped to calm and smooth out the knots. Dr. Susuno offered a hand and Naruto missed it only by a few inches.

"Well, you seem to be doing really well today. How are you feeling?" Dr. Susuno asked kindly, taking Naruto's hand in his own without commenting on the blunder.

"Fine," Naruto answered quietly.

He'd been warned by the nurses that he could get sick again if he was too loud or moved around too much in the next few weeks, so he kept all his movements small and whispered or murmured when people asked him questions. He wished Taka was able to visit. That would make it easier to know the things they asked, or deal with them when he didn't.

"Good, that's very good. I have something for you. But we'll have to take another trip. I'm sure you'll hate it," Dr. Susuno said morosely.

But something in his voice told Naruto he didn't really mean it. And yet, that weird edge drove back the fluttering feeling in his chest. The worry came with it. If he's lying then maybe he really isn't here to help? Maybe the glasses were really some kind of awful device to take away the things he _could _see. Dr. Susuno laughed, a rich, pleasant sound, and Naruto took another breath. He shouldn't have let himself get so worked up over nothing. Naruto followed Dr. Susuno out the door and toward the elevator, struggling to hold back the urge to run on ahead. Were they going to his office again maybe? It had neat things for him to look through. He liked being there. It wasn't at all like the other office he'd visited the other day, with that Dr. Kusanagi.

Dr. Kusanagi Raito was somebody Kakashi had brought and they had gone outside to talk because he'd said that it would be more comfortable than the hospital room. It hadn't been. Naruto had squirmed and fidgeted in his chair until he'd remembered the nurses telling him how he'd get sicker if he didn't stop. He had felt sicker after leaving. Dr. Kusanagi had wanted to know so many things, all of them about _before_. He hadn't said a word. He wasn't supposed to. He frowned, trying to find the face of the person who had told him that. He recalled a soft, almost musical voice, a woman . . . And she'd had that same smell he'd imagined when it had been so hard to breathe. Naruto shook his head and hopped into the chair that Dr. Susuno guided him to. He jiggled his feet, sure that it didn't count as something he wasn't supposed to do.

"Well, let's see how these work for you, alright?" Dr. Susuno commented cheerily.

Naruto smiled, still a little nervous about how the glasses seemed to focus things. He didn't get it, but maybe he wasn't supposed to. Maybe it was just one of those adult things, like the reason trolls went after children. Taka would always look away, sometimes confused, but mostly frightened, whenever Naruto asked about it. So he'd stopped asking, afraid of hurting his friend. He missed Taka already. He hoped Kakashi and Iruka could help him get a place for his very own like they had said they would.

Dr. Susuno slipped the glasses around his ears and then took them off and used some kind of tool to bend the edges a little. Naruto narrowed his eyes to keep track of it. When the glasses were re-adjusted and put back on, they didn't slide down his nose anymore. He leaned forward into the machine the doctor had told him about on the last visit and read off the numbers at a different line. When he leaned back, Dr. Susuno was smiling wider than before and Naruto could see it better.

"Much better, huh? The clouds in your vision will still be there for a while, but we might be able to do something about them too, eventually. Hop down now, and I'll take you back to your room. Maybe Umino-san and Hatake-kun will be there waiting to take you to your new house when we get there."

The thought of a house, one he could stay in without having to worry about his things getting stolen or the very structure being ripped down by a storm or a very bad man, made him excited. Naruto hopped off the doctor's chair and nearly skipped out of the room. He remembered, a little late, that he was supposed to take his time. He slowed down marginally, unable to keep all the energy from being cooped up in one white room or another from pushing his legs to move faster than the doctor's. Dr. Susuno Keita watched him for a moment and shook his head. He hoped it panned out differently than he'd heard from the other physicians and Umino-san while they whispered about possible evidence of past abuse and a family they couldn't seem to find. He liked Kakashi and Iruka just fine, but the thought of such a bright and enigmatic young boy being treated so harshly, even though he knew the realities of what some parents thought of their children, made him desperately sad. He wanted it not to be, for his biological parents to actually _be_ parents, if only for Naruto's sake. He sighed, sadness crinkling the deep creases near his eyes further, and followed at a quicker pace to catch up with the boy.

But Naruto stopped short and cried out. He turned to face Dr. Susuno, eyes wide.

"Naruto, what? What happened? Are you alright?" Dr. Susuno asked, slightly alarmed.

"The letter!" Naruto shouted and raced back to the exam room where he'd brought it earlier. Dr. Susuno hurried after him and had to pull up suddenly as Naruto came out of the room, face reddened and chest working laboriously to keep up with the unexpected activity. At least he wasn't sweating and he didn't seem to be feverish. But the doctor wasn't going to take any chances. A setback now would not be a good thing, for anyone involved with his case.

"Naruto, sit for a minute," he urged, guiding the boy to a hard, plastic chair left out in the hall for patients or visitors waiting for test results or harried physicians to speak to them.

Dr. Susuno reached into his pocket and drew out an ear thermometer that he'd swiped from the nurses' station just in case. He held it to Naruto's ear and waited for the beep. When it sounded, he checked the device and nodded. His temperature wasn't elevated; that was good.

"Well, now that you've given me quite the scare, take a breath and calm down for me," the older man told him. He watched the boy take a few deep breaths and was satisfied when his breathing evened out and a better color reached his face.

"That's better. Now tell me, what was so important that you had to go through so much trouble to get it, huh?"

"The letter!" Naruto exclaimed. He held the paper out to the doctor who eyed it carefully before taking it.

"Do you want me to read it?"

Naruto nodded. Dr. Susuno unfolded it and read through the contents quickly before smiling.

"Well, it's from Iruka. He says that they are going to come pick you up at five today. The doctors are releasing you then. They're bringing by a friend of theirs for you to talk to first. She's a social worker, like Iruka and just needs to meet with you before they take you home with them." The doctor tried to reassure him.

Naruto's face had gone from extremely pleased to near apprehensive as he'd talked. The look had not gone completely but Dr. Susuno thought it was best to wait and let the others know about it when they came. The boy hadn't had much contact with other people in his life before all these doctors and strangers had barreled through it. Some time to adjust was certainly warranted. They headed back to the room then, to wait.

"Naruto, I have other patients to see today, so I'll leave you with the nurses. I expect to see you again soon. Then, you and Iruka-san and Kakashi-kun can come see my office."

Naruto blinked, a little nervous but still excited, at the chance to leave the oppressive hospital. He grinned and waved Dr. Susuno away. He would be fine. He had Kuma-chan and the nurses had all been good to him. He would be just fine until Kakashi and Iruka came later.

Kakashi fiddled with his jacket. They'd been waiting for Kurenai to bring the rest of the paperwork for them to sign for over an hour. He understood the busy schedule of a social worker. He lived with one, after all. Or they were going to start living together rather than simply staying over at each other's homes. It wouldn't be all that different. He was nervous all the same. So many things had changed in so short a time. And they were changing still. He sighed and shifted in the chair again.

"Would you calm down? She's not going to eat you, you know." Iruka remarked in the seat next to him lowly. He reached over and held fast to Kakashi's hand to keep him from twisting it into his jacket again. Kakashi huffed out a dry laugh before settling down only to surge to his feet as Kurenai came around the corner. She smiled at them and beckoned for them to follow her to her office. Iruka placed a hand on his back. He felt the warm pressure and instantly began to relax.

Kurenai's office was a deep shade of maroon, an awful color and had horrible, pliable, wood furniture but the seascape prints on the walls and the large windows overlooking the taller buildings in the west part of Shibuya helped to make it less ugly. She slapped the thick folder in her hands down on the desk and Kakashi fought to keep from cringing. If this was how some of the deviants he questioned regularly felt, he had a new respect for those that could withstand it.

"Well, I'll cut to the chase then, shall I? We haven't been able to contact his original family. The point is moot anyway, as they stopped checking in with the detectives in Missing or Exploited Children around the time he turned ten. They grew suspicious of course, especially when they heard the couple planned on moving. They live out of the country, the last anyone has heard, and that's all I'm allowed to tell you. They have no rights to him so fostering, or even adoption, is acceptable."

Kakashi and Iruka stared at her. Kakashi glanced at Iruka out of the corner of his eye and found the same stunned confusion he knew must be in his own eyes.

"Uh, what? His family is no longer interested in finding him? That's a bit . . . cruel, don't you think?"

Kurenai shrugged. The feeling that this was not the first time she had come across this situation with a missing child, considering she wasn't responding with the same horror and confusion, hit him and he felt sad. At least Iruka had not become so numb to the affects of his job, though a little less compassion might save him from a nervous breakdown, or ulcers. Kakashi grunted and shook his head in disbelief.

"Well, I guess it's the best thing, really. If they are that callous, I'd hate to have to hand him over."

Kurenai frowned and glared at him.

"They could only be doing what they see as best for their son, Kakashi-san. It's more than likely that they want to put any possibility of further trauma behind them since he's been missing for six years. He very well could have been in the clutches of a pedophile ring, or a repeat child murderer. If they've had any more children, they have their best interests to look after as well. And to some parents, an emotionally damaged child to handle on their own is hard enough."

"Are you saying they've moved on, had more children, and then moved out of the country to forget about the child they gave up on in the first place?" Iruka questioned; sarcasm and anger escaping his mouth to run rampant inside the room.

"Now, Iruka, I know how much empathy you hold for your charges, but it would be best for all concerned if you let the matter drop. Trust me. From what you've told me, Naruto needs help to acclimate to his new surroundings, to begin school, and to learn to associate with people again. Leave it be, at least for now," she said sternly.

Wise enough to know when to leave a volatile situation before it blew up, Kakashi held up his hand and reached out to grip Iruka's wrist laying on his thigh tightly.

"It's fine, for now. We'll concentrate more on the boy and his well being. Won't we, Iruka?" he squeeze down on the wrist he held and Iruka grunted a little. Using those words probably made him sound harsher than he wanted but Iruka needed to be brought to a stop before he pushed too far and jeopardized the whole plan. Kakashi derailed his thoughts quickly. That was the last thing he should be using as a comparison to a little boy without a proper home.

"Yes," Iruka had to bite out through clenched teeth. Kakashi let go then, afraid he'd actually hurt him. Kakashi nearly kicked him when Iruka smiled with a wicked glint in his eye.

"It will be fine, Kurenai. You'll be stopping by the house in a few days or so for the first home visit, right?"

Kurenai smiled delightfully then, and Kakashi had a chance to see that she was really rather pretty. Her eyes were a strange shade of brown, almost a roan color and her black hair fell in soft layers to just below her shoulders and shone brilliantly. Her face was structured softly with a more natural beauty and pale skin to offset it all. If he wasn't so deeply in love with Iruka, or currently into more muscle and a deeper voice than she could pull off, he might have asked her out. Iruka caught Kakashi eyeing his co-worker and this time he was the one to enjoy catching him off guard with a kick to the shin. Kakashi grunted and winced, then smiled pleasantly at their hostess. Kurenai raised an eyebrow and sniffed.

"Yes, that's right. Don't think you can con me about the exact date either just because we've worked together on a few cases. Fill these out and sign where indicated and then we'll go meet the child. I'll have his birth certificate and any other medical information relevant to him delivered to your home later on in the week," she commented briskly.

After they had finished with the laborious questions and she had taken back the clipboard they all stood up. To Kakashi, it felt as though he was being measured and weighed only to be found wanting by all who dealt with deprived or homeless children. Thank God it was only a short twenty minute ride to the hospital and, after Kurenai had met with Naruto, they could take him home to start getting him settled in. Of course, being a complex and complicated person, that thought arose in him a new set of insecurities but Kakashi pushed them aside for later, or maybe never. Before he knew it, the elevator bell hummed, announcing Naruto's floor and they headed down the elongated corridor to his room. Why was it that it felt like one of those dreams where there's a long hallway they seemed to drag on forever or a run you have to complete but can never go fast enough?

The smile that caught them as they entered made up for it though. At least, until Kurenai moved from behind them and Naruto narrowed his eyes and pulled his face into a near snarl. The look caught Kakashi hard and he turned to Iruka who he was relieved to see fighting the same confusion.

"Naruto," Iruka called softly. "Hey, we're here to get you someplace better than a hospital. You'd like that, right? This is my friend," he continued, pointing at Kurenai.

"Her name is Kurenai and she just needs to ask you a few things before you can come with us. Okay?"

Naruto didn't nod but he didn't try to run or yell either. Kurenai smile at him and turned to give Iruka a squeeze on the arm. Apparently, she knew what she was doing because Kakashi, in all his years on the force, had never dealt with this. A cage full of criminals, yes, even violent ones, he could deal with. And even children, as they related to a victim or a suspect. But they were always handled by a social worker eventually. He'd never had to spend so much time around one. Perhaps this had been a bad idea. He watched Kurenai lean down and tilt her head to the side. She smiled again and kept her hands linked in front of her as she moved back to stand next to Iruka.

"Well, let me just ask this and I'll get out of your way. Do you feel comfortable enough with Iruka and Kakashi that you think you can get along? You're not going to start chucking pens at them if you're alone in a room together, are you?"

Naruto frowned. So did Iuka. The question was absurd, well the last one had been. He'd never asked that to a child he was about to place. But Naruto's eyes narrowed and he shook his head slowly. He might not trust Kurenai enough to open his mouth, but he'd lived a long time without many adults, even children, around so it was understandable to Iruka. She smiled brightly and clasped her hands together.

"Wonderful!" She turned to regard the men in the room. "I'll be by here and there to check up and make sure. See you!"

She waved to them and then turned to wave a little at Naruto, the smile gone from her lips but still in her eyes. Iruka sighed. Kakashi blinked, unsure of it was safe to do that just yet himself. Iruka chuckled and lapped playfully at his arm.

"Relax, we're in for it now, 'cause he's ours," he said softly. Kakashi began to grin. And even though Naruto had trouble understanding what they meant, whether or not they were talking about him, he had a feeling they had been. That woman hadn't been here long for him to get used to her. He hadn't liked how she'd looked, but she was gone now and he was going with Iruka and Kakashi, to their home. He smiled, wider and goofier than Kakashi's lopsided grin or Iruka's sweet, small one. He was going to go home.


End file.
